Axle drive devices of the initially mentioned type are known from the prior art. In the overwhelming majority of motor vehicles, propulsion according to the current prior art takes place via a drive assembly designed as an internal combustion engine. The driving torque is transferred to the wheels of the motor vehicle by way of a transmission and a differential. For all-wheel drive vehicles the driving torque is divided between the front and rear axles by way of different types of distribution systems. For example, a mid-differential and clutch should be mentioned here. Mechanical all-wheel drive systems, starting, in particular, from vehicles of a certain size class (B segment), generally distribute a high proportion of the driving torque to the rear axle. The objective here is to relieve the front axle of the transfer of a high driving torque so that it has a relatively high lateral force potential at any time and thus can transfer the lateral force impressed by the steering system of the motor vehicle. In this way, the tendency of the motor vehicle to understeer is reduced and high vehicle agility is achieved.
The differential of the axle drive device is designed to transfer the driving torque to the wheels provided on the axle of the motor vehicle and, at the same time, to allow a differential speed of the wheels. Here, two designs of the differential can be distinguished. In an open differential, the driving torque is always immediately transferred to the wheels, as a result of which the transfer is free of yawing moments. If, conversely, a limited slip differential is used, the torque can be shifted from one of the more rapidly turning wheels to a more slowly turning wheel. The objective of development in the motor vehicle domain has recently been to increase the available torque in a motor vehicle or to increase the power integrated in it or the available torque with fuel consumption as low as possible and at the same time to achieve high agility of the motor vehicle. The results of the development, however, are often unsatisfactory with respect to fuel consumption of motor vehicles.
Therefore, the object of the invention is to make available an axle drive device for an axle of a motor vehicle with which both an increase of the available torque and also high agility of the motor vehicle can be achieved, with fuel consumption as low as possible.